About Me

When not nosing, tasting, drinking and reading about malt whisky, I own one of Israel's premiere boutique coaching practices, specializing in small businesses and executive teams.
Trained in the law, I was an international law attorney and took part in Israel's peace negotiations with the Palestinians, as well as representing my country at the UN for parts of the negotiations on the implementation of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Later I was appointed to the military bench.
My favorite thing, other than whisky, is teaching.
You can contact me through the social media buttons above or by email: michael(at)maltandoak.com, replacing the (at) with an @.

Statement of Integrity and Guidelines

Malt and Oak is an independent whisky blog, offering my own views, opinions and news from the world of malt whisky.
These are my guidelines:

1. All whisky reviews published are of whiskies I have personally tasted and noted. Guest bloggers only write about their own personal tastings.

2. With the exception of official whisky samples, I accept no consideration whatsoever from any distillery, bottler, distributor, drink company or store for my opinions.

3. I maintain strict impartiality and objectivity in tasting all whiskies, not least when tasting official samples. Any review of official whisky samples sent to me will be so noted in the post.

4. I will accept invitations to tastings, events and official visits, and full disclosure will be made on any tasting notes and articles resulting from these events or visits.

5. Any sample received over 30 ml in volume is shared with fellow whisky bloggers. In any event, no sample larger than 100 ml will be accepted.

6. No advertisements promoting specific brands will be accepted.

7. I will answer any inquiry by my readers as quickly and as fully as possible.

8. Should I give a link purchase the reviewed whisky, it will be given free of any commercial interest. The link given will always point to cheapest selling price I found on the web. No commission is paid, nor any other consideration given, for such link.

9. As of July 2017, I serve as Douglas Laing’s Israel brand ambassasdor. As such, I will obviously not be posting reviews of Douglas Laing products.

Bowmore Devil’s Cask III (56.7%)

Bowmore is, for me, a very problematic distillery. On the one hand, I don’t really like the whisky it produces. There’s a signature funk in the Bowmore whisky that I simply don’t like. Also, the whisky tends toward the development of tropical fruit, which is also not my favorite in whisky. This is, of course, exactly the reason that so many other people love it.

On the other hand, were it not for Bowmore’s parent company, Morrison Bowmore, my beloved Glen Garioch wouldn’t have still been open. Add that to the fact that the distillery does some of its own floor maltings, and you get a distillery to which I harbor some ambivalence.

The above, however, is not to say that I have not tasted some Bowmore expressions that I enjoyed, including the second Devil’s Cask. The first two editions were age stated at 10 years old. The third edition is not age stated, but has been released suspiciously close to the release of the 9 year old. That expression is sherry cask matured in Oloroso casks, together with some bourbon cask matured whisky. However, at 40%, it’s hardly a contender as a replacement for the Devil Casks.

While not being personally a great fan, one cannot ignore that Bowmore is one of the most excellent performers in the auctions. With the special editions doing particularly well.

Nose: Wet peat reek, very ripe guava, dirty citrus, and spice. There’s dryness on the nose, with the Oloroso very prominent. There’s dried orange peel. Some time in the glass allows the malty notes to come through, with a hint of chocolate.

Palate: Very Bowmorey, with peat and dried fruit, a fruity sweetness, pepper and cardamom, and a slight y fizzy blood orange. Dry spice and a citrusy bitterness lurk right under it.

Linger: Pepper, peat and a burnt bitter linger. The spice lingers around the gullet, and a fizzy fruitiness in the mouth, with a slight dry bitterness.

Conclusion

While far more “Bowmorey” than the second devil. This is a complex dram. Not to my liking, but if you like Bowmore you’ll probably like this, if you can get it for a normal price.